Molding and counter top installation



March 19, 1957 fH. B. MURRAY 2,785,937

NOLDING AND COUNTER Top INSTALLATION Filed Jan. 7, 1954 FIG. I

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INVENTOR ATTORNEY avr-fur MLDING AND CUNTER TOP INSTALLATION Hilton B.Murray, York, Pa. n Application January 7, 1954, Serial No. 402,644 4Claims. (Cl. 311-103) The present invention relates to moldings forjoining in secure, sealed relation a fixture, such'as a shelf or cabinettop, sink drainboard or other structure, to the wall of a room, such asa household kitchen.

The invention also relates to the combination of such a fixture andwall.

An important object of the invention is to provide a combination offixture, Wall and connecting molding which will be maintained inattractive and presentable joined relationship notwithstanding warping,settling and other influences tending to separate the fixture from thewall.

Another object of the invention is to provide an installation of theclass indicated, and a molding member therefor, which can be made at lowcost and which can be readily and inexpensively applied and assembled.

The invention will be disclosed ina preferred form of embodiment adaptedfor use in connection with the top or upper horizontal element of akitchen cabinet, sink or the like, herein generically designated acounter top which is to be permanently mounted in position against awall or equivalent vertical surface by `a fitting covering the joint soas to prevent penetration of water between the counter top and the walland so as to keep the joint covered and closed notwithstanding relativemovement of the wall and counter top resulting from settling, warping orother factors.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment ofthe invention which has been tested in actual use and found to beentirely satisfactory, and which is therefore disclosed for the purposeof exemplfying the invention,

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a wall and of acabinet installation showing the wall and cabinet joined by the newmolding member;

Fig. 2 is a relatively enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. l; and y Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the new moldinmember.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 1 designates generally a fixturesuch as a lower kitchen cabinet, a sink drainboard, table top or thelike, having a substantially horizontal flat top deck 2, hereinaftercalled a counter top, which has its rear and/ or side vertical edges 3butted up against the vertical surface 4 of a wall or equivalent uprightmember.

The surface 4 is generally backed by a base structure of plaster,wallboard or the like 5 and faced with a covering of some continuoussheet material or layer of ornamental tile 6 like those shown in Fig. l.The counter top 2 is surfaced by any conventional sheet material 7,commonly linoleum or a plastic or other composition material like thatwhich is extensively sold under the trademark Formica Such counter topshave heretofore generally had a backsplash wall integral with orfastened to their rear or side edges, or they have been provided with asmall cove molding similarly located and fastened, like the backtedStates Patent O splash Wall, to both the counter top and the room wall,or to the room wall or the counter top. None of such arrangements hasbeen entirely satisfactory. The backsplash wal lis expensive to make andpresents difficulties in installing. The molding is inexpensive, but onrelative movement of the counter top and wall it separates from one orthe other of those members and opens an objectionable gap.

To overcome these difiiculties the present invention provides themolding member best shown in Fig. 3. This member includes a singleintegral elongated strip 8 which can be readily extruded or otherwiseformed of aluminum or other appropriate metal, or of plastic or othersynthetic material.

The strip includes a back plate element consisting of an upper flange 9and a lower flange 10, integrally united at what may be regarded astheir meeting edges, along about the median line of the plate, with theflanges so related that one flat surface of each, which may be regardedas the back surface, are co-planar. Integrally united to the flangesalong their integrally connected meeting edges, along the median line ofthe plate, is a molding body 11, which is considerably thicker than theflanges. This body has a bottom surface 12 extending right angularlyforwardly from the top of the lower flange 1li and it has a back wall 13spaced slightly forwardly from the front surface of the upper flange 9to cooperate with that surface in forming a slot 14 which is open at itstop and is closed at its bottom by the narrow rib 15 which connects themolding body 11 to the flanges 9, 10. The upper and front surfaces ofthe molding body 11 may be contoured in any desired shape, such forexample as the concave shape shown at 16, to produce a cove type ofmolding as best appears in Figs. 2 and 3, and the free or leading edgeof the bottom surface 12 of the body is preferably slightly downturnedto provide a lip 12a for making good sharp contact with the counter topsurfacing material 7.

The upper flange may be tapered along its top edge by beveling its frontsurface toward its back surface, so that the upper edge 17 is relativelythin.

Apertures 18 are formed through the lower flange at spaced intervalsalong its length. The upper flange 9 is best left unperforated.

The strip 8, shaped as has just been explained, is installed by seatingthe under surface 12 of its molding member 11 snugly down on the surfacecovering 7 of the counter top 2, with the front surface of the lowerflange 10 snugly engaged with the rear or other vertical surface 3 ofthe counter top which is to be butted up against the wall 5. Fasteningelements, such as the nails or the like shown at 19, are driven throughthe apertures 18, or through the soft, unapertured material of the lowerflange 10, and into the material of the counter top 2.

The counter top with the strip 8 thus securely fastened to it, is pushedfirmly against the wall 5 so that the two flanges 9 and 1t) have theirco-planar back surfaces engaged with the wall surface, as shown in Fig.2. This fitting operation is done before the wall covering material 6 isapplied to the wall. The strip 8 is not fastened to the Wall. However,the cabinet or other fixture of which the counter` top 2 forms a part issecured to the wall in any appropriate manner, as by lag screws, bolts,screws or otherwise. Or, in the alternative, the fixture may be simplyfastened to the room floor.

The wall covering material 6 is then applied to the Wall. Its lowermargin is seated in the slot 14 and its upper portions are disposed incovering relation to the upper flange 9 and to the wall 5 above theupper flange, as shown in Fig. 2. The tapered upper margin of the upperflange eliminates any abrupt change in the surface plane of the covering6 at or adjacent to the upper edge of the upper flange 9.

Cement, caulking or the like may if desired be interposed between thebottom edge 12 of the molding member 11 and the top surface of thecounter top covering 7. However, I have found that such material is notnecessary to accomplish effective sealing of the molding member to thecounter top.

It will be appreciated that the fastening elements 19 securely hold theentire strip 8 in its original position relative to the counter top,regardless of any movement of the counter top away from the Wall 5,whether outwardly in a horizontal direction or downwardly. Suchmovements, as has been explained, frequently occur as the result ofwarping, shrinking and other changes in the wood, settlement of thebuilding, and for other reasons. Such movements have no effect inopening any gap in the present installation. Downward movements of thecounter top simply lower the seat of the slot 14 below the bottoni edgeof the tile or other wall surfacing 6, but the upper lip of the slotremains in covering relation to the margin of the surfacing. Outwardmovements of the counter top carry the molding member with the top andpull the upper flange 9 and the seated lower margin of the surfacing 6outwardly with the counter top. The sole effect is a more or less slightbending of the lower zone of the tile or the like 6 from the Wall 5',which is entirely unnoticeable.

The details of the illustrated embodiment of the invention may be variedwithin the .spirit of the invention and the scope of the broader of theappended claims. Thus, for example, it is by no means necessary topreform the apertures 18 in the lower ange 10 if, as is preferred, themolding member be made of a material, such as a relatively soft aluminumalloy, which is readily pierced wherever desired in the nailingoperation during installation. In order broadly to cover the fastenablefeature of the lower ange whether pre-formed with apertures or made ofunapertured and unperforated material through which nails or the likecan be driven, certain of the appended claims define the ange as beingpenetrable by fastening elements. Again, it is not essential to thebroad spirit of the invention that the molding body 11 be formed withthe downturned lip 12a. The invention can be embodied in a body having afully flat under surface 12. In addition to these illustrativemodifications, other changes can be made from the disclosed embodiment,as will be understood.

I claim:

1. A unitary, one-piece molding member for joining a substantiallyhorizontal counter top or the like to a vertical Wall surfaced by acovering layer, said molding member comprising an elongated stripportion including relatively thin upper and lower vertical flangesintegrally connected to each other and having co planar .back surfacesadapted to be engaged with the wall, said lower ange having a frontsurface adapted to be engaged with and secured to the vertical surfaceof the counter top and being penetrable by fastening elements foreffecting such securement, and a solid, relatively thick molding bodyportion extending horizontally along said strip portion, the lowerportion of the body portion being integrally and rigidly connecteddirectly at its rear to said flanges along their line of integralconnection with cach other, said body portion having a bottom surfaceadapted to be engaged with the upper surface of the counter top andhaving its upper portion, above said integral connection to the anges ofthe strip portion, spaced from the front surface of the upper flange toprovide therewith a vertical slot forming a pocket open at the top forreceiving and holding the lower margin of the coveiing layer of the walland closed at the bottom by said integral connection to form awatertight seal between said wall surface covering layer and saidcounter top or the like.

2. A molding member as claimed in claim 1, in which the upper and frontedges of the relatively thick molding body portion are connected by aconcavely curved surface whereby said body portion forms a cove moldingelement. i v

3. A molding member as claimed in claim 1, in which thefront surface ofthe upper portion of the upper vertical flange is tapered toward thebacksurface thereof.

4. In a counter top installation, the combination of a counter tophaving a substantially horizontal upper surface and a vertical edgesurface, a wall having a surface covering, and a unitary, one-piecemolding member joining said` top to said wall comprising an elongatedstrip portion including upper and lower vertical flanges integrallyconnected to each other and having co-planar back surfaces engaged withthe wall, said lower ange having a front surface engaged with thevertical edge surface of the counter top, fastening means extendingthrough said lower vange securingl the front surface thereof to thevertical edge surface of the counter top, a molding body portion of saidmember extending horizontally along said strip portion, the lowerportion of the body portion being integrally and rigidly connecteddirectlyat its rear to said anges along their line of integralconnection with each other, said body portion having a bottom surfaceengaged with the upper surface of the counter top and having its upperportion, above said integral connection to the flanges of the stripportion, spaced from the front surface of the upper flange, therebyproviding a vertical slot forming a pocket open at the top between saidbody portion and upper flange and closed at the bottom by said integralconnection, and a surface covering for the wall having its lower marginextending into and held in said slot and being sealed from the countertop by said integral connection forming the bottom of said pocket.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,143,034 Sakier Jan. 10, 1939 2,158,467 Madsen May 16, 1939 2,348,658Slaughter May 9, 1944 2,570,850 Pearson Oct. 9, 1951

